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Chef's Blog

Get the latest news, updates and information straight from Chef Todd Bemis himself for an inside look at what's going on at Atwater.

Jun 28

Atwater Beer Buzz June 28

Greetings from the Vail Craft Beer Scene!

There is a lot going on at the Vail Cascade as we prepare for Fourth of July week in the Vail Valley…and our next Brewmaster’s Weekend with Avery Brewing Co. is at the top of the list! But before we jump into the craft beer current, there was an interesting article in the Vail Daily Weekly last weekend that you should know about.

Krista Driscoll, Vail Daily Hophead Extraordinaire, has announced a challenge to all readers. She wants to know where to go in the Vail Valley to find the best selection of beer, and is taking nominations until July 31. This round is for on-premise establishments (restaurants and bars), and she will go research all nominated businesses and rate them in a number of different ways. Read her article here. She is giving extra merit to those places who have a personal testimonial in the nomination. If you’re interested in contacting her, email KDriscoll@vaildaily.com. (You do not have to be a Vail Valley resident to make nominations.)

Now – back into the craft beer current and headed into the rapids…

Avery Brewmaster’s Weekend is scheduled for next Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7. As is traditional, we will be hosting a complimentary sampling on Friday from 4 – 7pm in Fireside with our Avery guests. Meet, greet and talk craft beer with Avery Head Brewer, Matt Thrall and see what goodies he’s brought up with him… I understand they are bringing some cellar selections for you! View/print flyer.

All weekend we’ll have Avery specials going on as well. We’ll have White Rascal and IPA available as more sessionable options than the beers offered in the pairings on Saturday.

Saturday brings our Small Plates and Craft Beer Pairings from 5:00 – 6:30pm, and we highly suggest reservations. The flyer is attached, posted in Avery social networking zone, Vail Cascade website & social networking world, and I’ll print it out for you as well:

We also featured the following craft beer options in a VIP reception with top notch small plate pairings for our Destination Hotels & Resorts Sales & Revenue Directors yesterday. The event was very well-received, and we introduced several people to the world of craft beer - plus an additional surprised few to the idea of sour beers (my favorite!).

Note: The Samuel Adams Barrel Collection options (American Kriek and New World Tripel) will remain on our list as long as they last.

And as always, Friday Night Flights are available every Friday beginning at lunchtime and valet parking is complimentary for all of our Fireside and Atwater patrons. So walk, hike, bike, cruise, wander, drift or fly by to enjoy our craft beer scene and beautiful resort!

Atwater Beer Buzz June 21

Greetings all!

Much is happening as summer kicks into gear in the mountains. There are volleyball and lacrosse tournaments, mountain bikers, fisherfolk, rafting enthusiasts and hikers everywhere!

We’re getting excited for our next Brewmaster’s Weekend, which is coming up July 6 & 7. Matt Thrall, Head Brewer for Avery Brewing Company from Boulder, CO, will be joining us for the weekend. I enclose the flyer for your review, but here’s the scoop:

Meet the Brewmaster · Friday, July 6Fireside Bar from 4pm–7pmOpen to the public, no chargeSample a collection of Avery beers,meet & greet with Matt Thrallenjoy Avery specials all weekend long!

Our craft beer program is doing several group functions in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll pass along the pairings and/or craft beer selections as they are finalized. It’s exciting to include the world of craft beer in new areas of the resort programming!

Announcement! We have a new promotion going in our Fireside Bar that is a daily "Après everything"special from 4–6pm:

Flights & Bites!If you purchase a Craft Draft Flight, you get 50% off one of our wonderful Small Plates.

This promotion is good through September 3, so come on in and check it out – any day of the week!

New on our craft beer list this week are several Boston Beer/Samuel Adams selections as promised. Boston Beer is in house this week for their regional meetings, and seems to be having a terrific time! The additional selections on the menu are:

Samuel Adams Boston Lager (draft)

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) American Kriek

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) New World Tripel

Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider

We also have finally rotated the last of our Spring draft handles to the new rotation, and Morland Brewing Old Speckled Hen is on draft with a nitro faucet (extra smooth and creamy!).

Our Friday Night Featured Flight ($7) will include the new Samuel Adams Barrel Room items:

New Belgium Fat Tire

Dogfish Head Saison du BUFF

Samuel Adams New World Tripel

Samuel Adams American Kriek

Stone Smoked Porter

And our Craft Draft Sampler ($7 on Fridays) will include the following:

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Old Speckled Hen

Bristol Laughing Lab (or Sam Adams Boston Lager – depends on timing)

Ska Modus Hoperandi

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

We look forward to seeing you, and encourage you to come relax on our patio and enjoy the summertime!

As always – complimentary valet is provided for our Fireside and Atwater guests.

Local Hoteliers and Restaurateurs in Vail Partner Up to Launch a Monthly Cruiser Crawl

Vail lures locals and visitors outdoors with its warm temperatures, beautiful scenery and friendly vibe, but four local businesses are looking to entice folks to get out on the town with a new cruiser crawl summer program. Kicking off Wednesday, June 20th, the 2012 Vail Cruiser Crawl series is a free, monthly outing that takes bicyclists on a five-mile loop with libation hydration stops at The Fitz in Manor Vail Lodge, Frost in The Sebastian Hotel, the Vail Chophouse and Atwater on Gore Creek, Vail Cascade's signature creekside restaurant, offering a journey through the world of creative cuisine, handcrafted brews, customized beer flights and artisan food pairings.

At each Cruiser Crawl, participants will receive a Crawl Pass they can use at each stop to purchase specially priced $6 Herradura Tequila and Little Black Dress Vodka signature drinks. Participants that stop at any one of the Cruiser Crawl locations will also receive one punch on their Crawl Pass per stop, for a total of up to four punches. Each punch can be redeemed for one raffle ticket at the final Cruiser Crawl stop for a chance to win a TREK Cruiser bike, valued at $600. A new bike will be given away at each Cruiser Crawl and the raffle will begin promptly at 7:30pm. Participants must be present to win and no purchase is required.

The June 20 Cruiser Crawl will start at The Fitz (4-5pm) and will be followed by stops at Frost (5-6pm), the Vail Chophouse (6-7pm) and end at Atwater on Gore Creek (7-8pm). The 2012 Vail Cruiser Crawl series will run from 4-8pm and will feature a different route each month. Future series dates include:

All bikes are welcome on the crawl. For folks that do not have a bike, Venture Sports and Charter Sports at the Vail Cascade Resort are offering discounted rates on bike rentals.

No advance registration is required.

If you go ...

What: 2012 Vail Cruiser Crawl Inaugural Bike Ride.When: 4-8pm, Wednesday June 20.Where: Meet up at The Fitz or catch up at any one of the four locations in the crawl route. Cost: Free. More information: Nicole Whitakerat 970-343-6115 or via email at nwhitaker@destinationhotels.com.

Atwater Beer Buzz June 15

Greetings from the Cascade world of craft beer!

Exciting progress to report on the Avery Brewmaster’s Weekend coming up on July 6 & 7th! Dustin from Avery came up and tasted our culinary team's Small Plates & Craft Beer Pairings, and it’s going to be incredible. Hands down delicious!

Our menu should be out shortly, but at this point I can let you in on the fact that the beers that we will be pairing include the Avery Holy Trinity (that’s Salvation, The Reverend, and Hog Heaven), Maharaja and Samael’s Ale. Samael’s is a special treat, as it’s a limited release product and has inspired a cult following on its own. I can attest to that, since a good portion of our culinary team belong to this cult. Just ask them. And five beers you say….? Well, one of the four food courses is going to be a dual beer course, designed to showcase the similarities and contrasts between two of these wonderful creations.

If you’d like to book your seat now on Saturday the 7th – even before the menu comes out – please let me know and I’ll make your reservation happen!

Yesterday evening was a reception for the Colorado Society of Association Executives, and I was pleased to host a craft beer table and sample the attendees. We showcased Avery White Rascal, Stone IPA and Left Hand Milk Stout as an approachable selection covering a variety of craft beer styles. About half of attendees were already familiar with craft beer and knew what they liked, and the other half were experimenting for the first time. Overall, very well-received!

New this week on our craft beer list is the Dogfish rendition of Saison du BUFF. For those of you who might not be familiar with this beer, it’s a collaboration between Stone, Victory & Dogfish Head, and the recipe is brewed & packaged at all three breweries. It’s a saison with parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme…so food-friendly is somewhat of an understatement. (are you singing along with Simon and Garfunkel?) It’s in this Friday’s Featured Flight, so come check it out!

Moving on to this week’s Friday Night Flights, we’ve got the following lined up for you:

Special Note: Next week we will be hosting a conference for Boston Beer, so expect to see some unusual Samuel Adams products in house beginning on Monday.

Remember that the Vail Cascade is right on the Vail Recreation Path for biking and hiking convenience, right on Gore Creek for fly-fishing and great scenery, has a beautiful pool patio and outdoor dining options….AND has complimentary valet service for our Atwater and Fireside patrons.

It’s a beautiful place to spend an afternoon or evening…plus we have a fabulous craft beer list!

Atwater Beer Buzz June 6

Greetings all!

Another fantastic Brewmaster’s Weekend was enjoyed by all this past weekend, with Kevin & Marisa Selvy from Crazy Mountain Brewing Co. and Matt Wirtz and Andy & Amanda Jessen from Bonfire Brewing Co. as our resident celebrities. We met a number of Teva Mountain Games guests and a lot of Vail Valley locals, and are pleased to have you all on board

Many thanks and kudos to our culinary team for the incredible Small Plates pairings. The craft beers from Crazy Mountain and Bonfire were perfectly complemented by the inventive and tasty appetizers, and all of our guests are excited to return for more Atwater experiences.

Our next Brewmaster’s Weekend is scheduled for July 6 & 7 with Avery Brewing Co from Boulder, CO. Matt Thrall, Head Brewer, will be joining us for the weekend and we expect it to be a blast! We’re looking to do as much as we can by the pool, and are exploring options along those lines.

Craft Beer at the fantastic infinity-edge pool is happening for the summer! The current craft beer cans at the pool include the following:

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